Knappstein The Insider Clare Valley Riesling 2024
- 93
- $32
- Drink by: 2025-2035
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A seriously interesting style of Riesling, from the Clare Valley and an excellent vintage there. The team divided the fruit and put part through a cool ferment in stainless steel, which they stopped early, with the second parcel placed in barrel for fermentation, which also sees a portion of skin contact. The combination produces a delightful, if delightfully different style of Riesling. The colour is a very pale yet shining lemon hue. This is intense with quite lifted aromatics, notably lemon and jasmine, with spices and hints of kumquats. There is some fruit sweetness – stopping part of the fermentation early will have contributed – but a clean finish, very long. Good intensity carries the full ride, with juicy acidity. An absolute must for Riesling lovers, this should drink beautifully for the best part of a decade.
Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.
